Days of Our Undercover Lives
by Itsjustshe
Summary: Scarecrow and Mrs. King - The Soap Opera
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - This is strictly an AU story. It is meant to be a humorous look at our heroes as if they were part of a Soap Opera. The characters are definitely doing things that I wouldn't expect them to do. I meant it that way. I have not lost my mind just temporarily misplaced it. Thank you for Taya for suggesting the concept so many months ago. Also thank you to my partners in crime that keep me honest and grammatically correct. Don't know where I would be without you! All feedback is appreciated and welcomed.**

 **Disclaimer:** "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. The plot is mine, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

Lee Stetson, suave, sophisticated and smooth, sauntered into the bullpen casually searching the room, not quite sure what he was looking for, but felt he would know it once he saw it. As he looked towards his boss' office, he noted that Billy was already engrossed in paperwork. lEE felt that whatever had his superior's rapt attention was soon going to be his problem. He didn't want that. He was hoping for some downtime this weekend, to do what, he wasn't sure but wasn't that what being young, good-looking and single was all about? Turning abruptly in hopes of avoiding Billy's attention, he did not notice the beautiful Mrs. King standing so close behind him. How could he have missed her intoxicating scent? The same scent had invaded his dreams nightly.

Reaching out a hand to steady her, he apologized. "Amanda, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you." The moment his fingers wrapped around her forearm, he felt an electric shock radiate through his whole being. Seeing the look in her eyes and the sudden blush rising across her sun kissed face, he knew the simple touch had had an effect on her also.

"Lee, I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have been standing so close." She hoped the tremble in her voice didn't betray her true feelings for the man that had become her heart over the past two years. I couldn't help getting close to you, my love. She thought. It's like a magnetic force that pulls me toward you. My loins ache for your touch.

Not wanting to break contact, Lee ran his hand up and down her arm, acting as if his very touch would magically heal the redness that he had caused when he had grabbed her. "Amanda, I would really like to avoid Billy for the next few hours. I have a three-day weekend planned and don't want to get pulled into a case on a Friday afternoon, so would you have lunch with me? I can tell Billy that we're running down a tip from one of my sources on something big that's possibly going to happen. When we get back this afternoon, I can say it had no merit and leave for my weekend." Lee looked deeply into Amanda's eyes. Would she accept his tale on face value or would she see right through him? How could she not see the longing in his eyes? He thought that everyone could.

"A long weekend planned, huh? Who is it this time, Stephanie from Accounting or Taffi, the cute young blonde from Requisition?" she asked, as she stepped back to break his hold on her. Not only the physical hold that he had, but the metaphysical one that she hoped he never realized. Amanda despised the jealousy that raged inside her at the thought of Lee spending a weekend in some hussy's arms, well, not just her arms but her being.

"Actually, Amanda..." Lee stepped forward, now only a hair's breadth away from his desire, "I have no actual plans, just a relaxing weekend. Maybe sit by the fire and read."

"Hhhhmmmphf," she scowled, "Like I believe that. The amazing Scarecrow, alone for a long weekend reading, as if."

Hurt evident on his face, Lee took a step back ready to defend himself when Billy's large voice echoed through the hallways across most of the floor. "Scarecrow, my office! This instant!" He stood staring Lee down until he had the younger man's full attention, "and you should join us too, Mrs. King, as this most definitely pertains to you."

All eyes were suddenly cast on the pair, who slowly turned away from each other and towards Billy's office. Lee reached out his hand to lay it on the small of her back and usher her to their doom, but pulled back before he made contact, as he remembered her stinging words uttered mere moments before.

Amanda took her usual seat while Lee immediately started to pace. He was not sure why he was so agitated but just had a feeling that whatever Billy was going to tell them next was going to affect both their lives.

"Lee settle down, Man, you're acting as bad as Francine did when I sent her into that convent for a month to track down those gun runners."

"Sorry, Billy." Lee flopped into the empty chair and continued. "What's going on that will take me away from my long weekend of relaxation?"

"You mean your weekend of debauchery," Amanda mumbled.

Lee shot her a dirty look and was about to reply when Billy interrupted. "Now children, I need your attention." Once both sets of eyes were focused on him, he continued. "There was a credible threat to Senator Matthew Jackson from Tennessee. He is afraid for his wife so he has asked the President for protection. He and his wife, Ruth are hosting a charity event for the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital tomorrow night in Nashville. I want you on a plane in three hours."

"But Billy, can't someone else go? I have plans." Lee begged while his mind wandered to thoughts of being with Amanda for the whole weekend. Hhhhhmmm, I wonder if we'll be playing husband and wife. I would love some playtime with my 'wife'.

"Can it, Scarecrow, the President asked for you personally."

"The President knows my name?" Lee straightened in his chair at the thought of being so important that the President knew who he was.

"Not your name but your reputation, your professional reputation." Billy gave Lee a knowing stare. "He has also heard of your reputation Amanda for thinking outside of the box and thought you would be perfect for this assignment." Billy smiled at the housewife-turned-spy.

"Thank you, Sir. I will try my best." Amanda couldn't help the huge smile that crossed her face. The President of the United States had heard of her unorthodox methods and asked for her assistance.

"I know you will, Amanda." Billy watched as Amanda seemed to glow.

"Okay, Billy, if you are determined to ruin my LONG weekend, what are the details of the assignment and our covers?" Lee acted agitated hoping to cover his excitement of spending the weekend with Amanda.

"Well, Lee," Billy gave him the look that said 'shut up and let me continue'. "You and Amanda will fly to Nashville and stay with Senator and Mrs. Jackson in their mansion. Your cover will be as Rick and Ashley Middleton, an environmental attorney and museum curator and Ruth's cousin and cousin-in-law. The only ones who will know that you are not Rick and Ashley are the Jacksons."

"Sir, won't their friends and acquaintances know the Middletons already? I mean, if they're related, they must have been around."

"Good question, Amanda. Ashley has been living in Australia since she went there her junior year in college and fell in love with Rick who was born there. Nobody has seen Ashley since then and Rick has never been to the States though he spent most of his years travelling and in boarding schools."

Amanda started to laugh. "Lee, how's your Australian accent, Mate?"

"Better than yours." Lee stuck his tongue out.

"Child," Amanda mumbled just loud enough for Lee to hear.

"Okay, both of you, here is the file with all the information on the threats. Head to Fabrications and get your ID packages. They should be all ready for you. Oh, and play nice, the President wants daily reports." Billy handed Lee the file and returned his attention to the morning briefing reports indicating that this meeting was over.


	2. Chapter 2

"Amanda, Dear, is that you?" Dotty called down the stairs.

"Yes, Mother, it's me." Amanda trotted up the stairs to her room to pack. As she got to the top, Dotty slipped through her bedroom door cinching the waist to her bathrobe and shutting the door behind her.

"What are you doing home in the middle of the morning?" Her voice was tight as she eyed her daughter suspiciously.

"I need to pack. IFF is doing a documentary on the behind the scenes charity events and I'm being sent to Nashville for the weekend. Senator Jackson from Tennessee is hosting an event at the Opry to raise funds for a children's hospital." Amanda explained as she went into her closet to get her suitcase.

"Oh, Amanda," Dotty gushed. "You are going to be hobnobbing it with politicians and celebrities all weekend long. How exciting!"

"Mother, I'll only be in the background. I won't be actually meeting anyone of importance." Amanda downplayed her role in the weekend.

"Well, you never know, Amanda. Maybe a recently widowed senator will sweep you off your feet. It happened on The Young and the Beautiful last month. Amber Stevens was a secretary and Senator Wyatt met her when he was running through the park and tripped. She helped him up and it was instant love. They got married three weeks later. Then he decided that he liked men more so Amber is becoming Andy. It was so romantic."

Rolling her eyes at her mother, Amanda couldn't help the long sigh that escaped her lips. "Mother, that's a soap opera. Nothing like that happens in real life. It's like those romance novels you like so much."

Noticing for the first time the bathrobe that her mother was wearing, Amanda continued. "Are you feeling alright?" She reached over to feel her mother's forehead checking for signs of a fever. She would hate to cancel her plans, but if her mother was sick, she couldn't possibly leave her with the boys for the weekend. "Mother, you seem a little hot and flushed. Are you coming down with something? Maybe I should let IFF know I can't go"

"Amanda, you're being silly. I feel fine." Dotty swatted Amanda's hand from her forehead and once again tightened the sash on her bathrobe.

"Mother it's almost noon, why are you still in your bathrobe if you're feeling alright?" Amanda questioned just as a loud noise echoed through the house.

Amanda raced from her room to investigate.

"I must have left my window opened and it knocked over my lamp. You don't need to go into my room. I'll take care of it after you leave." Dotty yelled to her daughter as she sank to Amanda's bed.

"Dr. Duncan, what are you doing in my mother's bed?" As the good doctor pulled back the sheets to reveal an elephant shaped thong covering very little of the overweight doctor, Amanda exclaimed "Oh my God! Don't stand up" Shielding her eyes, Amanda sunk to the bed but quickly jumped up and ran to her room almost knocking her mother over in the process.

Dotty looked into her room, and said. "Bill, please pull the sheets back up. Amanda hasn't been with a man in a very long time. She really doesn't need any ideas put in her head." Heading back into Amanda's room, Dotty found her on the bed and reached for her hand "Amanda, I can explain."

"Mother, I really don't want an explanation, but I do want to know how long this has been going on. I mean Dr. Duncan is your gynecologist. Isn't this against his medical ethics?"

"Well, Amanda, if you must know. Bill and I have been hooking up for about two years now." Standing, Dotty stated firmly while crossing her arms giving her daughter her best 'don't mess with momma' stare.

"Hooking up! Mother is that what this is, just a hook up?" Amanda jumped from her bed meet her mother eye to eye. She couldn't believe she just caught her mother having a casual affair.

"Well, yes, we aren't exactly dating but we both have urges and since he does know his way around a female body, who better to hook up with?"

"Mother! You taught me never to treat sex as a casual occurrence." Amanda spat out in disgust.

"Yes, Darling, I did and when you were 20, it was good advice but neither of us are 20-year-old virgins anymore. We should enjoy sex and right now, I'm enjoying it with Dr. Duncan. I suggest you find someone who can jump start your engine too. It might do you a world of good. See you on Monday, Amanda." With that last remark, Dotty returned to her room with a flourish.

Amanda continued her packing quickly trying not to think of what her mother was doing in her bedroom just down the hall. As she was closing her suitcase, she went to her closet and pulled down a box hidden on the top shelf. It was full of unused lingerie that she had purchased on sale while dating Dean, but before finding out that he preferred when she wore a granny nightie instead of anything sexy. _Hmmm, I wonder if he did have mother issues._ Shaking her head to clear that thought, she grabbed a few of the nightgowns and threw them in her bag. Now she just needed to get up the nerve to wear them in front of Lee. He might not want her, but she needed to show him what he was missing.

With the suitcase in hand, Amanda quickly passed her mother's bedroom door, hoping against hope not to hear anything as she went to the kitchen to leave a note for the boys. She needed to let them know where she would be and to be good for their grandmother and quietly left to wait for Lee outside. She knew her mother would need the car for the weekend, but didn't want to be in the house any longer knowing what they were doing upstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Lee and Amanda took their seats in first class playing their roles as Rick and Ashley from their designer wardrobe provided by the Agency to the hand-holding and whispered endearments. They were too wrapped up in their roles as the Middletons to notice the couple seven rows behind them.

 _Hmmmm,_ the man thought _, what is she doing in first class and who is she with? I must find out what is going on without her knowing._ His thoughts were soon interrupted by the woman purring in his ear. "Darling, are you a member of the mile-high club?" as her hand blatantly rubbed up and down his currently closed zipper.

"No, not yet." He smiled turning his full attention to the sultry brunette.

"Oh good," Kelly teased "I can take you to new heights but first we need to get you airborne." Her hand continued its assault on his now straining member, not caring that they had an audience watching her every move.


	4. Chapter 4

Arriving at the Senator's mansion just outside of Nashville, Lee turned to Amanda and leaned in close so the limo driver didn't hear, "Are you ready for this, Amanda? You do realize that once we leave this car, you will be expected to play the loving wife."

"Lee, I've played the loving wife at corporate functions for years, sometimes when I wasn't speaking to Joe, this will be a piece of cake."

"Even in the bedroom? Because you know, we will be sharing one." Lee queried with a smug grin.

"Oh, I've never had a problem playing the loving wife in the bedroom." Amanda smiled coyly at Lee batting her eyelashes with a flourish.

The limo driver had gotten out of the car and opened Amanda's door, helping her out. He then went around to the trunk to retrieve the luggage. Lee left the car, walked around to the other side to wrap his arm around Amanda and started towards the door of the mansion. A man opened the door before the couple followed closely by the driver, even reached it.

"Good afternoon, you must be the Middletons. I'm David Collins, Senator Jackson's Aide." The man moved out of the door to allow the trio to enter. Turning to the driver, he continued "Bosley, please put the bags in the room overlooking the garden. You can then take the car back to the garage. We won't be leaving the property today." Once again addressing Lee and Amanda, "Matt and Ruth are very excited to see you. This way please." David led Lee and Amanda into the formal parlor where Matt and Ruth were waiting for them.

Ruth rose from her spot next to Matt on the leather chesterfield and approached her "cousin". "Ashley, it's been so long. It's wonderful to see you again," she stated, pulling Amanda into a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You must be Rick. It's great to finally meet you." Ruth approached Lee and gave him a quick hug. "Let me introduce you to my husband. Rick and Ashley Middleton, this is my kind, loving husband, Matt Jackson."

"Senator, it's nice to meet you. Thank you for inviting us to your beautiful home." Amanda smiled genuinely at Matt as he shook her hand.

"Well, any family of Ruth's is always welcome into our home and please call me Matt." Matt smiled back at Amanda while he shook Lee's hand. "David, thank you, that will be all for the rest of the afternoon, but please be back for the dinner party tonight. I hope that Daphne will be with you."

"She is planning on it. It will depend on if she gets out of surgery on time." Turning to Lee and Amanda, he continued, "My wife is a doctor at the hospital that Senator Jackson is holding the benefit for."

"In fact, it was Daphne's idea. She is truly an advocate for her patients. Being an oncologist is hard enough, but watching children go through it. I truly don't know how she does it." Ruth's smile as she spoke showed her admiration for the doctor. "Well, David, I hope she is able to make it but if not, we'll understand. See you tonight." David, understanding he was no longer wanted or needed turned and left the parlor, closing the door behind him.

"Rick, Ashley, let's move into my office. I had Julie, our cook, leave coffee and sandwiches in there for us all. I figured we could use a little something since dinner won't be served until 8." Matt led the way into his private office and closed the door.

"Mr. Stetson, Mrs. King, thank you so much for agreeing to be here on such short notice." Matt walked to the round table in the corner and indicated the two chairs across from him for Lee and Amanda while Ruth sat next to her husband.

"Is it okay to talk openly in here?" Lee inquired warily while looking around the spacious, well decorated office.

"Yes, in fact it's the only place I feel comfortable talking in. We have found bugs and cameras in several of the rooms but being my office, I have this room and phone checked twice daily. Feel free to use it to call any of your contacts."

"Thank you," Lee picked up the coffee cup Amanda had filled and doctored just the way he liked. "Will you please fill us in on what has been happening? We left so quickly that I don't know all of the details, just that there is a tangible threat."

"Well, about two weeks ago, we got a note saying that we had 'ruined his life' and he 'will get us for it.' It was messengered to the house, but when the head of our security team followed up with the messenger company, he found that the guy was nondescript and paid in cash. The letter had been typed on a Selectric typewriter, on plain paper and envelope with no fingerprints. We tightened security for the next few days, but when nothing happened and we received no further correspondence we relaxed and thought it was a prank." Matt turned to his wife indicating to her to pick up the story from there.

"Six days after the first letter was delivered, I came out of a shopping plaza and found a note sitting on the front seat of my car. My car was still locked and the alarm had not been triggered. Again, the note was on plain paper, typewritten and had no fingerprints." Ruth reached for her husband's hand needing to feel the strength and comfort he always brought. Clearing her throat, she continued her story. "This note was more specific. 'Bitch, you ruined my life, now I will ruin yours. I can get to you at any time and in any place. You will never be safe.'"

Amanda gave a visible shudder and unconsciously reached for Lee's hand "Oh how awful. You must have been scared to death. What did you do? I mean, I would have been afraid to move; the car might blow up or he might be watching to follow you and run your car off the road. Who knows what someone like that would do?" Feeling Lee squeezing her hand, Amanda apologized, "I'm sorry, I tend to ramble when I get nervous or scared." Looking down into her coffee cup, she let go of Lee's hand and reached for a crustless sandwich half and put it on the small plate in front of her.

Ruth laughed. "Wow, you sound like my cousin, Ashley, she rambles...a lot." She smiled warmly at Amanda. "I actually ran back into the plaza and right to security. They kept me guarded in their office until our own head of security could come and take me home. We had the car towed to our mechanic. He found nothing and couldn't figure out how the note got into the car. He believes somehow this maniac got a duplicate key."

"Okay, why did it take so long for your request to the President that we get involved?"

At this point, Rick took over explaining the rest of the threat. "I saw the President last week for lunch. We have been friends since I worked on his first campaign for president. I believe in him and he actually inspired me to go into politics when he came to speak at Virginia Tech when I was a junior there. Anyway, he asked how Ruth was and saw the apprehension on my face, he pushed, thinking there was marital trouble. Once I explained what was going on, he offered his help. I turned him down, but after yesterday, I asked for his help."

"So, what happened yesterday?" Both Lee and Amanda asked at the same time.

"Matt and I had dinner here with the Governor and his wife and then went to a fundraiser at the library for the local literacy awareness program. It was a great time and we were relaxed and happy when we got home." Ruth squeezed Matt's hand and stiffened in her chair. "When we got into our bedroom, we found a picture of us taken earlier yesterday torn all over our bed and a black rose. He had gotten into our home, even with our security team in place. It became obvious that he wasn't going to stop until he killed me." Wiping away the tears that sprang to her eyes. "Our security team could not protect me. I'm afraid to leave the house and I have to be at this event at the Opry tomorrow night." Sinking back into her chair, all her strength now sapped, she sighed, "I'm the chairperson."

"So you have obviously checked into these threats, but what about your security team? Tell me about them? Could it be one of them? They would have access to the house and your cars."

"Lee, the head of our security team is my brother, Frank and he wouldn't have any reason to hurt my wife. Most of the team are made up of our old neighborhood friends and my high school football team. Frank has vetted each and every one of them along with all of our household staff and anyone who has access to this house. I trust them with my life, no, even more important, I trust them with my wife's life and," smiling at Ruth looking for her permission to continue, which he found in her bashful smile, "and the life of our unborn child."

"Oh, a baby, how sweet! Congratulations!" Amanda gushed.

"Okay, I get that you have a great security team, so our next step is to figure out how this person has such access to your comings and goings. You said something earlier to David about a dinner party tonight? Do you have a list of people who are coming? Has your security team checked them out? Did you send the names to Agency?" Lee rapid fired the questions at the Senator.

"We are expecting a total of sixteen for dinner tonight, including us. All of them are trusted friends who have helped in making tomorrow's event possible. I did call a list into Ms. Desmond at your Agency."

Amanda snorted and rolled her eyes at the mention of Francine's name. At Lee's glare, she turned her attention back to Matt, "I'm sorry Senator, please continue."

"As I was saying, everyone expected tonight are old friends. People we went to college with." Matt smiled and gestured toward his wife. "Governor Tom Hart and his wife Samantha, Chief of Police, Will Gillis and his wife Terri, our Mayor, David and Andrea Stevens, my college roommate, Al Edwards and his girlfriend, Vicki Wells and Ruth's college roommate, Kelly Munroe and her boyfriend, Jay something." Matt listed off the invited guests.

"Okay, do we know Jay's last name and is there anyone else?" Lee looked up from his notes.

Matt looked at his wife to answer Lee's questions. He could never remember the name of Kelly's longtime boyfriend. Any man who would get a woman pregnant and not marry her was a disgrace in his book. Their daughter was about to turn five and still no ring, in fact no sign of commitment at all.

"As for other guests, just David and Daphne and then us, for a total of sixteen. Jay's name is Keane I believe. They've been together for just over six years though he travels a lot." Ruth explained with a disapproving shake of her head.

"Okay, I think we have enough information for the time being, especially if we are staying in tonight. I noticed with David that you are using our cover story as the Middletons. Do any of the guests for tonight or tomorrow know who we really are?" Lee got up from the table and headed to the phone on the Senator's desk nodding at Matt to get his permission to use it.

Matt nodded and then answered "No, other than Frank, no one else knows who you are. We will continue to introduce you as the Middletons. Now we'll leave you to make your phone call. I'll be in the parlor going over some papers. Ruth why don't you show Amanda to their room and then lie down for a while. I'll make sure you're up in plenty of time to get ready for tonight." Standing, he helped his wife out of her chair and headed to the door to the connecting parlor to await Amanda.

Amanda stopped for a moment to talk quietly to Lee. "What do you think? Inside job or just someone who is just good at getting in and out of the place undetected?"

"I don't know, but we will find out. I'm going to give Francine a call to see if she has found anything in the background checks. Why don't you go upstairs and start unpacking? I'll be up shortly, Love." Off Amanda's raised eyebrow, Lee laughed, "Just getting into our roles as loving husband and wife, Dear." Amanda blew him a kiss as she headed for the door, closing it behind her.

"Okay, Ashley, I'll take you upstairs to your room. It has a beautiful view over the garden. I think you and Rick will find it terribly romantic." Ruth smiled at Amanda clearly enjoying playing her role in the conspiracy.

"Well, thank you, Cuz, I can't wait to see it. Let me just grab my purse." Amanda pointed in the direction of the parlor chair that she dropped her purse on early when she was hugged by her 'cousin'. Crossing the parlor, she picked up her purse and turned to Ruth. "I do hope the room has a four poster bed, Rick just loves a four-poster bed." Amanda smiled at Ruth, enjoying the discomfort that showed briefly on her face, turnabout was fair play.

Coming into the vestibule, Ruth spotted her housekeeper. "Chita, I assume my cousin's room is prepared."

"Yes, Mrs. Jackson. The room is all set. Is it okay if I get the coffee and sandwiches from the office?" Chita inquired.

"Not yet, Senator Jackson and Mr. Middleton are still in there. They should be done in about 10 minutes."

Amanda, busy looking around the grand entrance way didn't notice the black kitty that had crossed her path. Tripping before she stepped on it, Amanda quickly regained her balance, but lost her purse, spilling it all over the rug at the bottom of the staircase. Quickly bending over to collect its contents, she didn't notice Chita had also bent over to help until their two heads collided with a resounding thump.

"Oh, Mrs. Middleton, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Chita rushed to help Amanda up from where she had suddenly fallen, obviously having taken the brunt of the collision.

Shaking off the dizziness, Amanda rose and tried to alleviate the guilt that was written all over the younger woman's face. "Oh, Chita, really, I'm fine. You can ask my cousin," turning to indicate Ruth who was standing nearby, "I'm extremely hardheaded."

"And extremely accident prone too." Ruth added with a laugh. "Really, Chita, she'll be fine. I know you have a lot to do to get ready for tonight. I'll help Ashley collect her belongings and get her to her room before she brings the whole house down around our ears."

Ruth bent down then, next to Amanda and helped her gather her things. After they put everything in the bag, Ruth started toward the stairs.

"Come on Ashley, let's get you to your room before you do any more damage". Ruth laughed.

"Am I always this accident prone?" Amanda asked while carefully walking up the stairs.

Ruth, carrying on the cover story smiled at Amanda as they arrived at the guest room. "Well as a child, you were always falling off bikes, trees and that one time, the hay loft with, what was his name, the Warren Beatty look alike?"

A few minutes later, Ruth was standing in the upstairs hall staring at the closed door of the room she'd just ushered Amanda into. What an odd woman she thought as she considered the collection of items that had fallen out of Amanda's purse. Beauty products, coupons, door knob. What kind of person has a door knob in their purse?

She walked off shaking her head and wondering if they'd really gotten the best-of-the-best like the President had promised.

Meanwhile, back in the Senator's office, Lee was sitting on the desk talking with Francine via telephone.

"Francine, enough with the comments. This is just an assignment. There is nothing going on between Amanda and me. The Senator sent you a list of guests for tonight's dinner party; have you had a chance to run them down yet? I'd like to know what I'm up against." Lee's frustration was evident as he ran his hand through his hair.

"I did get the list this morning and was able to do a preliminary background check on everyone. They are all close friends to Senator and Mrs. Jackson, all prominent in their fields. There were no red flags anywhere." Francine looked up from the file on her desk to see Billy stopping at Fred's desk before heading her way.

"Come on, Francine, I can tell when you're holding out on something important. Now spill it," Lee grunted into the phone while leaving his perch on the desk to pace as far as the cord would allow him.

"Scarecrow, I'm telling you everything there is to tell. Most of the guests are longtime friends, going as far back as their high school and college days. Except of course, David and Daphne Collins and Kelly Monroe's boyfriend Jay." Francine once again turned to the file on her desk, picking up a picture of the man known as Jay Keane.

"Yeah, what do you have on Mr. Keane? I get the feeling that the Senator and Mrs. Jackson don't care for him." Lee asked. Something in Francine's tone told him she was not being completely honest with him, but why?

"Well, the person they identified as Jay Keane has been dating Ms. Monroe for about 6 years, their daughter, Lucy, will be 5 next month. He travels a lot on humanitarian missions. They met in L.A. while she was working for a security company and he was on loan to the D.O.J. Everyone I spoke to said that he was just a regular nice guy who wants to do good in this world." Francine smiled as she tapped a perfectly manicured nail to her chin. _Oh, how I wish I could see Amanda's face when Mr. Keane comes to the party._

"I don't know what you're not telling me, Francine but I'm warning you now, if something you're hiding comes back to bite me in the ass, I'm going to let all of the men on the society page know just what a disappointing opponent you are in backgammon." Lee growled into the phone before slamming the phone down.

Francine smiled to herself as Billy approached. "Was that Lee? Did you tell him everything? It could get messy if they don't get ahead of the situation."

"Oh, I told him everything he needed to know." Francine's wide-eyed, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth expression should have been a warning sign for Billy but he was already headed to his office, thoughts about the hidden piece of cake in his desk forefront in his head. _Oh Lee, this will teach you to leave my bed in the middle of the night with just a note saying it was over._ Francine's sweet smile turned to an evil grin with a maniacal laugh. _That will teach you…_

Lee opened the door to the adjourning parlor and motioned for Matt to join him.

"I just got off the phone with my office. Everyone on tonight's guest list has been cleared."

"Well, I could have told you that. In fact, I did tell you that. I have known most of these people since college and the others, for the last five years." Matt smiled smugly at the agent, supposedly the best of the best of the Agency.

Ignoring the look on the Senator's face, Lee continued. "Amanda and I will just keep low level surveillance tonight and set up our cover. Tomorrow, we will head to the venue early to check in with the agents there in charge of security. Since our covers will allow us to travel openly with you, no one will think twice about us staying right beside the two of you throughout the event as an added layer of security without being seen. I'll leave you alone now. Where is our room located? I need to talk to Amanda and discuss strategy."

"Top of the stairs take a left. It's the room at the end of the hallway. It's a mirror image to our room which is located at the end of the hallway on the right. It's a large room with a private bath, king size bed, balcony and sitting area. I would suggest continuing with your cover story. We have found cameras set up in the room."

"Thank you for the warning. Both Amanda and I have sweeping devices and will check our room regularly." Closing the door behind him, Lee moved toward the stairs and collided into Chita almost knocking her down as she was heading into the parlor.

"Oh, Mr. Middleton. Excuse me, Sir. I don't know why I'm so accident prone today. First I bump heads with Mrs. Middleton and now I almost knock you down." Chita lowered her eyes embarrassed by her clumsiness.

Smiling at the young girl, Lee tried to relieve her obvious discomfort, "No harm done, to me at least. As for Mrs. Middleton, not only is she always bumping into me, I have always found her to be hard headed in so many different ways."

Chita relaxed and batted her eyelashes at the tall man in front of her. _If only he wasn't married. It could be a fun weekend if he was single and maybe I could even get my green card if he would marry me._ "Mrs. Jackson said the same thing about your wife." Chita reached out then and patted Lee's arm, needing to feel if there was any padding under the suit coat he was wearing. _Nope that's all him. I wonder what it would feel like wrapped in those arms, having him doing push-ups from my mattress while I writhed beneath him._

"Well, her cousin would know. Excuse me now. I really should go see if Ashley's okay." Lee carefully removed the young woman's hand from his upper arm and quickly skirted around her before she could grasp another hold on him. He took the stairs two at a time feeling her eyes bore into his, um, back the whole way.


	5. Chapter 5

Finally reaching the sanctuary of his bedroom, he wondered if Amanda had swept the room for any listening devices or even worse cameras. It would be hard enough having to talk like the Middletons but to have to act like a typical married couple would be next to impossible. He was finding it hard enough trying to keep his hands off Amanda lately, just needing to touch her, be touched by her. How hard was it going to be, was HE going to be, if he had to sleep in the same bed with her? _If this cover was only for real, if only for one night._ Lee knew one night in her arms, in her, would never be enough for him. A sip from her cup would not quench his never ending thirst. Better to never taste the fruit her vine, he thought wistfully.

When he heard the shower turn off, Lee quickly started to unpack his suitcase. Well, at least Amanda wasn't like most women, she had left half of the bureau and closet space for him. " _Huh, I guess there is more than meets the eye, Mrs. King," Lee_ smiled when he opened the wrong drawer and saw the colorful, lacy array of undergarments that Amanda had unpacked. " _I wonder what other surprises I might encounter if I ever got beneath the many layers that make up the woman that I love. What! Where did that come from? Want, maybe even need, but love?"_ Lee pondered the words until he heard the door from the bathroom open.

"Aman" catching her name before it fully escaped his lips, he continued, "Ashley, you look beautiful, but why are you wearing a sexy negligee in the afternoon?" He swallowed hard as he took in her barely covered body. The red gown, more lace than silk, clung enticingly to her lean, toned torso; her hair, slightly damp from the spray of the shower, hung loosely around her shoulders; her make-up free face even more beautiful. Lee moved toward her without thought and wrapped her in his arms. Amanda melted against him nuzzling his neck.

"Amanda," he groaned, fighting his body's urge to not only react to what she was doing to him, but to also reciprocate her actions. "Did you sweep the room yet?"

Pushing away from him, Amanda looked confused. "First of all, I'm on vacation, why would I sweep the room? I'm sure my cousin's staff are more than capable of making sure this room is clean. Second, why do you keep calling me Amanda? Are you having an affair?"

Now confusion took up residency on Lee's face. He moved in close so if there were listening devices in the room, only Amanda would hear. "Amanda, is something wrong? Did you find a bug?"

Jumping up on the bed, Amanda screamed, "A bug! Did you find a bug? What kind? You know I hate spiders. Please kill it and get rid of it! Rick, I can't be in a room with a bug."

Lee moved toward the bed, "Ashley, please get down from the bed. I didn't see a spider or any other kind of a bug." Taking Amanda's hands he helped her off the bed, but before he knew what was happening, he found himself not only on top of the bed himself, but also on top of Amanda. She had somehow pulled him down on top of her and was now attacking his mouth with her own. Giving into the sensations she was provoking in him, he instinctively kissed her back while wrapping her lithe body in his strong arms. Getting his knees beneath him finally and without losing contact with her succulent mouth, he moved them both to the center of the bed and then relaxed his body on top of hers.

Amanda made quick work of removing his jacket and tie and started working on the buttons of his dress shirt. Lee was letting his hands roam freely over Amanda. She raised her right leg to wrap around him, letting her nightie on that side fall to her hip exposing her naked leg to his touch, much to his delight.

Finally feeling the need to breathe, Amanda tore her mouth from Lee's and whispered in his ear. "Oh, Rick, maybe this bed will be lucky for us. Maybe we'll finally conceive the baby we have been waiting so long for."

Lee, who had started to kiss down Amanda's neck and shoulder removing the negligée's strap on his way, had just taken her nipple into his mouth when her words sank in. Reacting without thought, he accidentally bit her before rolling from her.

"Oh, you want it rough today, Honey, that works for me." She quickly shimmied out of her gown and pounced onto Lee, ripping the remaining buttons from his shirt and latching onto to his nipple, alternately sucking and biting. Lee laid his head back and brought both his hands to her hair, luxuriating in the attention she was bestowing on him, not understanding it, but enjoying it all the same.

"Oh God, that feels incredible. Where did you learn to do that?"

"Well, Rick, Darling, you should know, you taught me everything there was to know about sex," she purred while kissing down his firm stomach. His hands were still running through her hair, pushing her further down.

"Oh, that hurts, Rick, please be careful. I bumped my head a little while ago and it's still tender." Amanda explained and then continued her exploration of Lee, undoing his belt and pants and kissing down his treasure trail to her prize.

Realization finally dawned on Lee. He grabbed her under her arms and brought her back up to the bed and flipped her over, pinning her to the mattress.

"Oh, Tiger, yes, have your way with me." She relaxed against the mattress closing her eyes waiting for her husband to claim her once again.

Lee straddled her and demanded, "Ashley, open your eyes and look at me." When she didn't comply immediately, he shook her shoulders. "I said look at me," but Amanda still did not react. In fact, he thought she seemed to defiantly shut her eyes even tighter. Feeling desperate to confirm his suspensions, Lee shook her again.

"I'm being a bad girl, you should spank me." The grin that sprang to her lips had Lee wondering if he should get to 'know' Amanda better.

He shook his head then to clear the thoughts she had provoked in him and wondered if her head throbbed as much as he was throbbing at that moment. Lee then reached for the lump forming at the top of her head. "Amanda, damn it, look at me. I need to see your eyes."

Amanda opened her eyes then and stared into his. "Happy now, Lover? Can we continue? I believe 'little Ricky' is peeking from under his covers." Amanda nodded down their bodies as Lee groaned.

"Answer me this, who are you?"

"Who do you want me to be?" she purred while wiggling her hips under him, causing another groan to spill from his lips.

"What is your name?" Lee asked again still searching her eyes to see what he hoped was Amanda's warm eyes staring back at him but he saw nothing, just a vacant stare from the eyes he has fallen in love with. _Ugh, there's that pesky word again, LOVE!_

"I'm Ashley Middleton, your loving wife. Who the hell do you think I am?" Amanda pushed Lee off of her and stood up, grabbing her negligée and slipping it back on much to the relief and disappointment of Lee.

"I think you're my Amanda," came his quick reply.

"There's that name again. You better explain Rick or you'll be flying home alone." Amanda crossed arms and shot Lee a look of disgust.

Lee reached for a large, hard-covered book on the night stand hoping that it would do the trick. As much fun as spending the night with Ashley might be, he needed Amanda. "Sorry about this." Lee mumbled while quickly bringing the book down on Amanda's head, hoping to bring his Amanda back. The book made a sickening 'thud' when colliding with Amanda's head before making a resounding bang from hitting the floor where Lee dropped it in an attempt to catch Amanda if she were to be knocked out by his blow.

"Lee! What do you think you're doing! That hurt!" Amanda screeched reaching for her head.

"Amanda?" Lee questioned while relief flooded through him and bent slightly at the knee to look directly in her eyes.

"Well, who else would it be? Though with your track record, I suppose it could be any number of women."

Lee grabbed Amanda, picked her up and spun her around. "I'm sorry that I had to do that but it always works on T.V. when someone thinks they are someone else and I couldn't think of anything else to do to bring you back to me." He leaned in to kiss her then.

Struggling against him, not sure exactly why he was acting this way, Amanda finally got away from him and demanded to know what was going on. "Lee, have you lost your mind?"

"Amanda, do you remember bumping heads with the maid?" Lee took another step away from Amanda to get her to listen to him and not worry about him hitting her again.

"Yeah?" Her brows knitted together trying to figure out what that had to do with why Lee had just conked her over the head with a book.

"Well, since then you have thought you were Ashley. You've been acting like we were married." Lee explained.

"What are you talking about? I have not!"

"What do you remember after that? Do you remember coming up here or taking a shower?"

"Um," Amanda forced her mind to remember what had happened after she bumped her head, "Okay, I have no clue what happened, but that doesn't mean I believed I was Ashley."

"So can you explain why you are standing there in a red negligée? Why you ripped open my shirt? Why you gave me a hickey?" Lee pointed to the teeth marks Amanda had made in her attempt to seduce him.

Looking down at herself, Amanda quickly grabbed the quilt off the bed and wrapped herself in it. "I did **not** give you a hickey. I'm sure you got that last night from one of your bimbos." She was trying hard to figure out how she had gotten into the red negligée. Obviously she had put it on herself since it was hers and she remembered packing it, just in case, but how did she have it on now without remembering getting into it or even unpacking it? Maybe Lee was telling the truth, maybe she did think she was Ashley. _Oh no, if I thought I was Ashley, I was trying to seduce Lee, no Rick, well, no Lee… Did I give him the hickey? How could I forget something like that?_

So lost in her own thoughts, Amanda didn't realize that Lee had moved very close to her until he pushed the quilt from her body and pointed to her breast. "Well, explain to me where you got your hickey from if it wasn't from me?"

Amanda turned around then, pulled her nightie away from her breast to see the red mark burned into her milky white skin. She gasped but tried to remember what had actually happened between them. God, how she would love to remember. She quickly retrieved the quilt from the floor, wrapped it around herself again and turned to look at Lee.

"I really thought I was Ashley?" Her voice was weak and confused. "Oh, Lee, I'm so sorry. I hope I didn't embarrass myself, or you. I honestly don't remember anything from the time I bumped my head until, well, until you conked me with that book." She then sank to the bed and put her head down, no longer able to face him. The full realization of what must have taken place hit her.

Feeling her discomfort, Lee kneeled in front of her and put his hand on her chin gently pushing up until her eyes met with his. "Amanda, you did nothing to embarrass yourself or me. Actually, I thought it was flattering at first until I realized that you weren't, well, you."

"You mean you actually thought I dressed like this to seduce you? Do you really think I would do that?" Amanda raged at him standing up leaving the quilt on the bed. "I'm not one of your one-night stand floozies!"

"Amanda, not that I would ever consider you a floozy, but I'm sure you didn't find the negligée in the dresser when you were unpacking. You must have brought it with you." Lee scanned her body slowly. His smile growing with every inch his eyes took in starting at her toes. When he finally looked into her eyes, he added "And, you look incredible by the way." He slowly approached her, his eyes never leaving hers, "I look forward to seeing it both on and off you again." He wrapped his hands around her waist and drew her to him, bringing his mouth to hers in a possessive kiss, "but for now, we have work to do. I'm going to take a very long, very cold shower. Why don't you get dressed for dinner while I'm doing that?" He smiled again and with a quick kiss to the tip of her nose, he disappeared into the bathroom.

Shaking her head to clear her mind, Amanda sauntered over to the full length mirror and took a good long look at herself. _I look damn good for a mother of two._


	6. Chapter 6

Entering the parlor, Lee turned to Amanda whispering, "You find Ruth and stick with her. I'm gonna check out the outside and make sure everything is secure. If anyone asks, I'm getting something from our car."

"Okay, Sweetheart, I'll see you in a little while." Amanda smiled at him, easily slipping back into her role of Ashley, brushing his lips with a kiss and then turning to look for Ruth among the guests that had already arrived.

She casually walked toward her target sitting on the settee talking animatedly to a pretty dark haired woman next to her

"Oh Ashley, come here, I want you to meet my best friend in the world and her fiancé."

As Amanda approached, she noticed the man sitting with his back to her in the wing backed chair and got a familiar feeling. Could this be the person sending the death threats? She wasn't sure, but something about the man sitting in the chair caused her to tense up, without even seeing him.

"Kelly, you remember me talking about my favorite cousin? Well, I would like you to meet Ashley Middleton."

Kelly smiled and reached up to take Amanda's proffered hand. "It's nice to finally meet you, I have heard a lot about you."

Gesturing toward the chair, Ruth continued, "And this is her fiancé and father to my five year old Goddaughter, Taylor."

Turning, Amanda came face to face with her ex-husband, Joe King, as he stood to greet her. Shock evident on his face, Joe started, "Amanda, what -" but was cut off by Amanda's look of pure anger.

"I'm sorry, Sir, you're mistaken. I'm Ashley not Amanda." Taking his hand tightly, she shook it trying to get him to keep her cover for a job he knew nothing about. She had much to discuss with him but now was not the time or place.

Realizing something was going on that he didn't know about, Joe smiled, "I'm sorry, you resemble my ex-wife Amanda. Ashley, it's nice to meet you." Pulling his hand away from Amanda, he realized that not only had his ex-wife just met a fiancée she knew nothing about but also learned of a child, his child, who was conceived during his marriage to her. _Boy, am I in trouble. Hopefully her secret is bigger than mine._

"Wow, this is what your ex-wife looks like, Jay? You told me she was fat and ugly. That she had let herself go after having the two kids which is why you left her 8 years ago." Kelly drawled as she stood up giving Amanda the once over.

Realizing that Amanda had just come into contact with what appeared to be her surprised ex-husband, Ruth jumped up, "Kelly, that's not nice. I'm sure that Mrs. King is a perfectly nice woman. Marriage takes two people to make it work."

"King? I've been with Jay for 6 years now, will you never get his name right? I mean, I know you don't like him but how hard is it to remember his name is Keane, Jay Keane." Kelly turned angrily toward her best friend, hands on her hips.

"Babe, it's alright. Ruth just made an honest mistake." Joe pushed past Amanda and wrapped his arms around Kelly kissing her softly. "Why don't we head to the bar and get you another glass of wine?"

Ruth cozied up to Amanda and whispered. "I'm sorry about that. Obviously that was your husband. Kelly is usually very nice, but she's had a little too much to drink and is mad because Jay keeps putting off wedding plans. She's hoping to talk him into stopping in Vegas on the way home and eloping."

"Well, she can have him." Amanda growled between clenched teeth.

Looking around to make sure no one could hear them, Ruth leaned in a little closer, "Wow, you still sound bitter. Hasn't it been about 7 years since you divorced?"

"No, just over two." Amanda stared at Ruth, anger radiating off her.

"So that means…"

"Yes, we were still married when Taylor was born."

Clearing her throat, Ruth spoke in a louder voice, "Ashley, I have some pictures I want to show you in Matt's office, come on. There is one of our grandmother that will make you laugh."

Following her lead, Amanda smiled, "I would love to see them."

Once safe inside the office, Ruth spoke in a low voice just in case, "Amanda, are you telling me that all this time that Jay has been with Kelly, he was still married to you? I've seen him so many times over the last six years. I know he travels with work, but I thought he was based out of L.A. Why weren't you living with him there?"

"Joe, which is the name on his birth certificate, does travel for work but his home base is DC but he spend the majority of his time the last few years in Estoccia. I refused to move to a country that doesn't have adequate health and school resources for my boys." Amanda fumed while pacing in front of a shocked Ruth. "When he first left, he promised that he would be home for six months out of the year, you know, two months there, two months home. Then that two months turned into three months there and one here until **HE** was only coming home on for Christmas. Phillip and Jamie haven't seen him in over a year." Deflated, Amanda plopped down in a chair, wanting to cry, but didn't feel it was professional. At this moment, she needed to be professional.

Taking a deep breath, Amanda rose with renewed confidence. "Okay, we need to get back out there and get this party started." Crossing the room and linking arms with Ruth, Amanda opened the door with a bright smile. "Ruth, thank you for showing me those. I would love to get a copy made."

"Sure, I'll have one made and send it to you. Oh, there's Matt, if you'll excuse me." Leaving Amanda's side, Ruth quickly crossed to her husband to gossip about what she had just learned. Matt was always suspicious about Jay Keane and now his suspicions were confirmed.

Amanda decided to find Lee and warn him about Joe being there but looking around she didn't see him. _Hmm, I wonder if he's still outside making sure everything is secure._ Continuing her scan of the room she noticed that Joe was alone at the bar. _I wonder if Kelly passed out somewhere, or….No, she couldn't have possibly sunk her claws into Lee._ Feeling desperate now to find Lee and make sure that he wasn't in a closet somewhere getting to know Kelly better, Amanda left the parlor and went to the main hallway. _Lee wouldn't do that to me, would he? Not when he is pretending to be married to me. I couldn't possibly lose two husbands to the same woman, could I?_

"Ashley, can I help you with something?" Amanda had been in her own little world and hadn't noticed the man standing in the entryway.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Smiling trying to put her at ease, the man introduced himself while putting out his hand to shake, "I'm Frank, Matt's brother and head of security. I know everyone else at this party so I figured you must be Ruth's cousin." Frank gave a quick wink before looking around to make sure they were still alone. "If you are looking for your husband, I was just speaking with him in the kitchen. He was making sure that the food hadn't been poisoned by sampling all of it."

Amanda let out a small laugh. "Thank you, that sounds like my Rick. Do you mind watching over Ruth while I go talk to him?"

"Has there been a development that I should know about?" Frank inquired while reaching for the gun hidden under his suit jacket.

"Nothing you need to worry about, just a small complication with our covers." Amanda smiled hoping to help Frank relax.

"Oh okay, I'll head into the parlor." Noticing the door opening, both Frank and Amanda turned, immediately on guard.

"Frank, it's only me," a man in a chauffeur's uniform stated as he entered the vestibule. I was hoping to use the bathroom and maybe get a glass of water."

"Oh sure, Fen, you know where everything is."

Curious, Amanda couldn't help but ask, "I thought no one was allowed in except invited guests, should you be in here? Who are you exactly?"

"Don't worry about Fen, Ashley. He's the driver for Governor Hart," Frank replied and continued on his journey to the parlor.

"And an old football buddy of Matt's. We went to Virginia Tech together until I was hurt during our second year. I actually introduced Matt to Ruth." As Fen approached Amanda, she immediately noticed a pronounced limp.

"Yeah, the old football injury." Fen looked down at his right leg. "I was the quarterback and was sacked during the last play of a very heated game. Somehow the other team got through my offensive line and next thing I know, I'm in traction for 4 weeks. I was lucky that I came out with just a limp. The doctors were talking paralysis."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Wanting to find out more about this man, Amanda stuck out her hand, "I'm being rude. M mother would never forgive me for that. I'm Ashley Middleton, Ruth's cousin."

"I've heard lots about you over the years that Ruth and I dated, I'm Fenner Dinsmore." Fen took Amanda's hand and kissed it. "You are as lovely as your cousin said."

"Why thank you, kind Sir." Amanda replied in her best southern accent. "I'm off to the kitchen to find my husband, can I escort you to get your drink?"

"No, I'm gonna use the restroom before getting the drink." Fen turned then to the hallway by the stairs."

"It would be a great help to me if you could show me the way. Ruth never told me where the kitchen is located. Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if she didn't even know. She was never handy in the kitchen." Something about this man made Amanda want to keep this stranger with her.

"Well, give me a moment and I'll walk with you." Fen opened the door to what Amanda could only assume was the bathroom. _At least now it won't seem suspicious if I wait for him. I wish I knew where Lee was. He should have checked in with me by now, and where is Kelly?_

Caught up in thought, Amanda didn't hear Fen come out of the bathroom or approach her until she felt a gun in her ribs.

"Put this on." Fen wrapped his right hand around her waist holding a very large black belt.

"It really wouldn't go with my outfit." Amanda tried to wiggle from his grasp.

"I'm not joking, Lady. That's a loaded gun in your ribs. If you don't want your guts splattered around your cousin's clean entryway, you'll do as I tell you." Fen stuck the gun further into her ribs causing Amanda to yelp.

"Okay, I'll put it on if you tell me what it is." Amanda slowly took the menacing object from Fenner and slowly wrapped it around her waist, hoping to distract him so she could remove herself from his grasp.

"You don't need to know what it is. You just need to put it on and no funny business. I still have the gun."

Once the belt was fastened around Amanda, Fenner put his hand in his jacket pocket and removed a remote control. "This is a dead man's switch. If I remove my thumb from this button, you and everyone around you will go kaboom. That's why I call it my kaboom belt."

"Wouldn't 'boom-boom belt' been a funnier name?" Amanda couldn't resist asking.

"I found that's been done before, this is new and improved and it makes more of a kaboom than a boom-boom. What I call it doesn't matter now, does it? Just know that until I release it, you will be the first to hear it go kaboom. Now go in there." Fenner indicated the parlor as Amanda searched around hoping that Lee was hiding in the shadows to rescue her.

"If you're looking for your husband, don't bother. I tied him in the closet with that sneaking PI lady from LA. I never liked her. Even in college, she tried to make me cheat on Ruth and then made Ruth break up with me after I was hurt. She thought I was never good enough for Ruth, never ambitious enough, never smart enough. Well, this will show them all. Now get in there."

Amanda feeling she had no choice, entered the parlor and called out for Matt, making everyone turn in her direction.

"Fen, what are you doing in here? You're supposed to be watching my car." Governor Hart roared as he approached the pair in the doorway.

"Back up, Tommy Boy. I'm the quarterback, I call the plays." Dinsmore released Amanda and pushed her toward the middle of the room.

Joe, immediately sprang from his chair at the bar. "What are you doing to my wife?"

"Ex-wife," Amanda yelled "In fact, an ex-wife who will be revisiting her divorce settlement and demanding alimony with her newly discovered information."

"Good for you, Amanda!" Ruth yelled from the back of the room

Matt came forward, "Fen, why are you doing this?"

"Well, let me explain. Mr. Second String. The stylish black belt that cousin Ashley is now wearing is from the Fenner Dinsmore collection. It is fashionable black leather with a silver padlock, inside there is enough explosives to not only blow this room to pieces but to collapse the whole building down around us. Not only do I hold the key," Fenner lifted a key on a chain from under his shirt, "but I also hold our future in my hand. If I let go of this button we all go kaboom, hence the name 'the kaboom belt'."

"Wouldn't 'boom-boom belt' have been a better name?" Joe queried from the barstool he had retreated back to.

"Oh shut up! It's my design and I named it Kaboom belt." Fenner turned to Joe with a seething look in his eye.

"Okay, you now have our fate in your hands, I need to ask, why?" Commission Gillis inquired from the other side of the parlor.

"Well, Willie, let me replay our last game of the season. I was quarterback with a great future and yet my whole offensive line decided to part like the Red Sea and allow the other team to sack me. I lost my scholarship and my girl on that one last play. As I laid all those weeks in the hospital, I had nothing to do but think. Why? Then it struck me, almost as hard as the linebacker, it was you!" Fen turned to Matt, anger vibrated from him.

"Me? What did I have to do with it? I was riding the bench."

"Exactly! You were my backup. You got carried off the field on their shoulders while I got carried off on a stretcher. These," Fenner swung his arms wildly around the room, "people, supposed friends of mine, were really **your** friends. They were my offensive line, my protectors but they let the linebacker sack me. You then swooped in and stole my position and my girl. You became king of the campus, **my** campus."

"Okay, so you have a beef with me. Let Ashley out of that belt and let the rest of them go. This is between us, not them." Matt moved closer to Fen.

"Uh uh, remember, I take my thumb off this button and we all go kaboom." Fenner backed away.

Amanda turned then to look at Fenner, hoping to plead with him to let everyone go.

"Mr. Dinsmore, I understand your frustration, but do you understand that you will be blowing yourself up too? Why don't you give yourself up and we can get you some help?" Seeing Lee out in the entrance way, ready to pounce on Fenner, Amanda gave a miniscule shake of her head and he backed off.

"Give up? Never!" Fenner raged. "I intend to blow us all up. This time, this quarterback will lead his team off the field."

"Fenner!" Ruth demanded his attention. "This isn't the person I knew and thought I loved. Why would you want to do this?" As she was speaking, Ruth moved to be face-to-face with Fenner allowing Amanda to move over a little so Lee could see the belt she was wearing, hoping he would understand that he couldn't tackle Fenner until they got the belt off or the remote from his hand without releasing the button.

"Ruthie, you wouldn't know the person I am anymore. You left me when I needed you most and for **him**!"

"I didn't leave you for Matt. I didn't meet Matt until after we had broken up. I left you because you had changed, you'd become bitter and hateful. I did love you, but the old you. I couldn't possibly love you anymore." Reaching out, Ruth touched his arm. "Fenner, please stop this, not for me, but for the man you used to be," she whispered.

Looking down at the belt, Amanda thought about trying to pick the lock without Fenner seeing but realized that was impossible but noticing the wiring… _Maybe, just maybe, she thought._

Meanwhile, in the hallway Kelly approached Lee who pulled her back before she went through the open door. "What's going on?"

"From what I can tell, the maniac who attacked us and put us in the closet, has a belt loaded with explosives on Amanda while holding a kill switch. He wants revenge on Matt and Ruth for something."

"A belt full of explosives? This is dejà vu."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, it just felt like I've been in this situation before. Who's Amanda?"

"Ashley isn't the real Ashley but Amanda King, an agent and my partner."

"Her name is Amanda? Is her ex-husband named Jay by any chance?" Kelly asked, her senses on overload but something clicked.

"No, Joe, Joe King. Why?"

Mumbling to herself 'so that is his ex-wife,' Kelly answered "No reason, except I think I've been lied to. So, what can I do to help?"

"Why don't you evacuate the rest of the house in case this goes wrong?"

"I can help, I'm a trained policewoman and a PI. Just tell me what you need me to do."

"Well, right now, there isn't much we can do until we can figure out how to get the kill switch from his hand. Let's watch Amanda and see if she gives us a signal."

Turning their attention back to the parlor, Lee watched Amanda closely, knowing from the look of determination on her face and the slight movements of her hand on the belt, that she had a plan.

Looking up into Ruth's eyes, Fenner gave a deep sigh and then raised his hand. "Sorry, Ruthie, but know that I will always love you." He then took a step back and started to lift his thumb.

"Lee!" Amanda screamed as Lee flew through the door and tackled Fenner and the remote flew across the room.

"Everyone get out of here now!" Kelly screamed as Joe scrambled across the room to get the remote in hopes of stopping the belt from exploding.

When nothing happened, Fenner let out a blood curdling scream. "NO!"

Willie Gillis stepped forward along with Frank and took Fenner from Lee who then rushed to Amanda's side.

Fenner was led from the room while Willie read him his rights.

Lee pulled Amanda into a tight hug before dropping to his knees and pulling a lock pick out of his collar. Removing the belt carefully, Lee handed it to Frank who took it outside to a safe spot until the bomb squad could dispose of it properly.

With the bomb out of the house, Ruth and Matt came back into the parlor. "Amanda, I'm so glad that Fenner was only joking about there being a bomb." Ruth pulled her into a hug.

"Well, I don't know about that. The bomb looked pretty real to me." Matt shook his head while glancing to Lee for confirmation.

"My guess is that it was real. I'm not sure why it didn't explode, but I'm sure glad it didn't." Lee looked at Amanda again. _What would I ever do without her? She is my life, my love. There's that word again. I guess I do love her._

"Well, I'm sure this had something to do with it not working properly." Amanda smiled while she held up her hand with a blue wire clutched in her fist.

Laughing, Lee kissed her possessively. "It's always the blue wire."

Hearing a heated conversation in the corner, the group turned to see Kelly, poised with her hands on her hips, growling at a sniveling Joe King. "So, not only is that your ex -wife, who is not only not fat or stupid, but actually is very pretty and was just smart enough to save all of our lives, but now I find out that you've only been divorced for two years!" Kelly spat out at him and took off her engagement ring and threw it at him. "And good luck trying to see Taylor!"

She ran from the room followed closely by Ruth.

"What was that all about?" Matt's curiosity got the best of him as Lee also turned his attention to Amanda.

"Well, gentlemen, let me introduce you to my ex-husband, Joe King." Looking at Matt, she continued, "Joe and I have only been divorced for about 2 years, and . . ." turning to Lee now, "He's been living in L.A. most of the last six years."

"Oh and Joe, forget about seeing Phillip and Jamie anytime soon. By the way, I'm now a spy and this is my partner and soon-to-be lover. I've definitely traded up. Mother would say he's an eleven."

Grabbing Lee, she pulled his head down to meet her lips and gave him a searing kiss. Kissing her way to his ear, she whispered, "Tonight, I will be wearing that red nightie and I won't think I'm Ashley or that you're Rick." Pulling back she gave Lee a sultry smile before excusing herself to find Kelly and Ruth.


	7. Chapter 7

The following morning

"Great job, Scarecrow" came the voice of Vice President Charles Forsythe over the squawk box on top of the senator's desk. "The President would have called himself but he is busy at the moment. He also wanted to thank you too, Mrs. King. We've both heard wonderful things about you. The President is going to fast track you through the system to offer you agent training at the Agency. He thinks you will make a fine agent and the perfect partner to Scarecrow. Scarecrow and Mrs. King will go down in history as one of the best partnerships the Agency has ever had. And I personally think you're an angel." With that the line went dead. Lee looked over at Amanda, pride beamed from his eyes.

Seeing the look of foreboding across Amanda's face, he nervously asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Amanda shook her head trying to rid herself of the negative thoughts that were suddenly thrust upon her. "I just have this bad feeling, almost like a dark shadow hanging over my head."

Lee got up from his chair then and squatted in front of her, "Hey, Partner, everything's going to be alright. We'll be partnered together, Scarecrow and Mrs. King. You just have to pass agency training and do a little bit of low level stuff. But you won't be a rookie for long."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Amanda pasted on a smile that just didn't quite reach her eyes.

"You have the President fast tracking you and even the Vice President thinks you're an angel." Lee snorted.

"Hey, what's that's for?" Amanda questioned exasperatedly. "I'm not an angel?"

"I know you well enough, Mrs. King, to know that you have too much devil in you to be one of Vice President Charlie's Angels." Lee laughed.

"After last night, am I your Angel?" Amanda batted her eyes at Lee.

Coming in for a kiss, Lee smiled "Oh, yeah, you brought me to heaven last night."

"What if I end up pregnant? I haven't been on the pill for a couple of years and well, the condom did break." Amanda asked shyly.

"Well, if that should happen, we would marry and between Matt & Ruth and you and me, we would start our own baby boom." Lee smiled, grabbed Amanda and kissed her hungrily. "What do you say about being Scarecrow and Mrs. Stetson?"

"I would say, that is the best title of my life." Amanda purred before once again capturing Lee's lips in a searing kiss.


End file.
